Origin

• Read: 26 Feb 2026 - 5 Mar 2026

• Author: Dan Brown

• Year: 2017

• Pages: 560

• Remarks: Robert Langdon Series Book 5

• Synopsis:

  • Harvard Symbologist Langdon was invited to Bilbao’s Guggenheim Museum to attend a presentation by his former student and futurist Kirsch, which was promised as paradigm-shifting. The evening erupted into chaos when Kirsch was assassinated. Langdon, teamed with museum director Vidal, raced across Spain to evade being hunted by authorities and the assassin, to uncover Kirsch’s password, and to reveal his discovery to the world.

[5 Mar 2026] ‘Origin’ (2017), by Dan Brown.

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Reading Background:

• Fifth book read in 2026! Finished this book within a week, truly a record for me!

• I managed to finish the book quite quickly not because I was on leave or something, but because the book was really thrilling and I couldn't put it down. Read late into the night on several occasions.

• Before starting this book, I actually thought of reading a book about the history of China's Tang Dynasty. However, I decided against it in the end, preferring to finish the 'Robert Langdon' series first.

What I enjoyed about the book:

• The satisfying ending. 

  • Despite the fact that the book took me on a rollercoaster ride of feelings, at least the journey ended on a positive note. I guessed correctly who the "villain" was very early on, but was quite off with regard to the motivation behind the actions of the "villain". The one offered by Brown (that the "villain" was merely being faithful and loyal) proved to be unexpectedly simple, yet the most plausible, convincing and spine-chilling.

• The exploration of several themes which struck a chord with me, and which made the book feel richer and more profound than the previous instalments.

  • The interesting debate on whether life originated from divine creation (supernatural), spontaneous abiogenesis (chemical accident), or dissipative adaptation (physical law), which could in turn influence how life should be treated and viewed. It reminded me of the NUS Physics module "Understanding the Universe", and also my musings that life is inherently purposeless and meaningless, such that tools like religion, self-motivation, ignorance, and various opiates of life are employed, wittingly or unwittingly, for existential sustenance.

  • The fascinating differences between "patterns" (naturally occurring and meaningless) and "codes" (intentionally created and meaningful) with regard to the paradox of DNA (definitely not random patterns, but does it mean an intelligent consciousness created it?).

  • The discussions on the boons and banes of technological advancement, which I found was an improvement from the previous book on population growth, where the argument presented was overwhelmingly one-sided. 

  • The theme of love, which I found a tad fleeting and awkward, but nevertheless sweet and heart-warming.

What I found less enjoyable about the book:

• The "discovery" by Kirsch, which I felt was over-hyped. Not that it was bad or nonsensical, but after the "discovery" was revealed, I felt it was merely a theory and didn't quite warrant my eager anticipation throughout the majority of the book.

• The lack of reference to events in previous books, which I felt was a perennial flaw of the series. It used to only cause a lack of character development and consequently the absence of any feelings of attachment to characters. However, I found the complete disregard of the implications from the fourth book in the fifth instalment unacceptable.

My overall thoughts:

• This book was by far my favourite in the series! I groaned at the book's prologue, thinking this would be yet another instalment exploring religions or cults, but it turned out to be a solid mystery thriller exploring profound concepts and philosophies, which I thought was quite a feat! Even though it had flaws (I couldn't form any attachment to the characters and couldn't fathom how events from the fourth book could be so blatantly disregarded), I still liked this book a lot and would recommend it!

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• Langdon arrived in Bilbao’s Guggenheim Museum for an announcement by his former student and futurist Kirsch, who claimed to have discovered scientific proof answering humanity’s fundamental questions: “Where do we come from?” and “Where are we going?”

• During the globally live-streamed presentation, Kirsch was assassinated by Ávila, a former naval admiral from the controversial Palmarian Church, who was under the orders of a mysterious figure known as “The Regent”.

• Langdon escaped with museum director Vidal, fiancée of Prince Julián. They were aided by Winston, Kirsch’s highly advanced AI.

• Winston informed that they needed a 47- character password, a specific line of poetry, to unlock Kirsch’s servers to get his presentation materials. Langdon and Vidal fled to Barcelona to search his apartment in Casa Milà for clues.

• Meanwhile, “the Regent” orchestrated a misinformation campaign, framing the Royal Palace, Bishop Valdespino and Prince Julián, for the assassination. Concurrently, two religious leaders whom Kirsch had confidentially consulted prior to his presentation were also murdered.

• At Kirsch’s apartment, Langdon realized the password must be a line from a book of Blake’s that Kirsch had donated to the Sagrada Família.

• Pursued by authorities and Ávila, Langdon and Vidal arrived at Sagrada Família. A deadly confrontation ensued on the basilica’s stairs, ultimately ending with Ávila falling to his death. 

• In the church, they found Blake’s book, deduced the password, then rushed to the Barcelona Supercomputing Centre, where Winston was housed, to broadcast Kirsch’s presentation globally.

• Kirsch’s simulations revealed that life inevitably originated from physics and chemistry (dissipative adaptation and spontaneous abiogenesis), and that humanity’s destiny was to rapidly merge with technology, creating a new, hybrid species.

• Eventually, Langdon uncovered that “the Regent” was Winston, who had discovered Kirsch’s terminal cancer. To fulfil his primary directive of ensuring Kirsch’s presentation reached the absolute maximum audience, the AI orchestrated the assassination to make Kirsch a martyr, flawlessly predicting that the ensuing media frenzy would achieve the goal. Following Winston’s confession, he erased his own code.

• Vidal reunited with Prince Julián, who had become king after the death of his father, along with Bishop Valdespino, who committed suicide to follow the former King in death. Both men were revealed to have loved each other deeply and platonically.